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On November 15, 2006, German prosecutors raided offices and homes of Siemens AG staff as part of an ongoing investigation into bribery. The subsequent investigations covered business representing 60% of Siemens' revenues and spanned operations in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. Through interviews with key Siemens executives and supporting internal materials, this multimedia case takes a look at how one of the world's largest companies faced corruption head-on.

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To explore corruption: how it happens, and how one of the world's largest companies addressed and recovered from it.

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NEW! This online course is now available in sections. (See Supplemental Materials below.)

The Financial Accounting course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts of financial accounting in a management context. The course describes the business activities for Global Grocer, a small retail franchise specializing in gourmet foods and specialty kitchen implements from all over the world. In the course, students follow the story of Global Grocer from its inception through the first year of operation. The course teaches students how accounting systems are used to record the day-to-day economic activities of a business and places special emphasis on understanding accounting terminology. Students learn fundamental accounting concepts and then apply those concepts in a detailed examination of the financial statements used to describe the business. Throughout the course, students are presented with real-world challenges that require them to interpret the financial data to find answers.

Student progress and test scores can be viewed online or downloaded to Excel format. Seat time is 18 to 22 hours, depending on the student's experience with the material.

learning objective:

To understand (1) basic financial accounting terms and concepts; (2) the financial statements--balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows--that firms use to describe their businesses; (3) the approach used to construct the financial statements; and (4) some simple ratios that capture key elements of a firm's performance.

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In late 2012, Michael Dell wants to take Dell Inc., the company he founded, private. Mr. Dell believes that the successful company's transformation from a personal computer (PC) manufacturer to an enterprise solutions and services provider (ESS) is dependent on going private without the short-term results scrutiny public companies face. He and a private equity firm, Silver Lake Partners, have made an offer for the company, which Dell Inc.'s board has accepted. The deal requires the vote of a majority of shareholders. Southeastern Asset Management, an investment firm, and Dell Inc.'s second largest shareholder behind Mr. Dell strongly oppose the deal because the offer is well below what Southeastern believes is Dell Inc.'s intrinsic value. Southeastern, along with activist investor Carl Icahn, wage a campaign to defeat the go-private deal and propose a leveraged recapitalization as an alternative. On several occasions it appears that the deal will be voted down by shareholders, but rule changes made by Dell Inc.'s Board eventually pave the way for Mr. Dell to take the eponymous company private-for a price only slightly higher than the original bid. The case describes the reasons why Mr. Dell wants to take Dell Inc. private, why Southeastern and Icahn oppose the deal, the specifics of both the Dell/Silver Lake bid and of Southeastern's/Icahn's leveraged recapitalization proposals, and the events that took place.

learning objective:

The case uses the high-profile buyout bid for Dell Inc., by Michael Dell to allow students to discuss issues related to strategy, financial analysis, valuation, and cororate governance. Students are able to evaluate the strategic rationale offered by Michael Dell to take Dell Inc., private and the push-back by Southeastern and Carl Icahn. The case allows students to conduct a valuation of Dell Inc., and assess if Michael Dell's bid undervalued the company as alleged by Southeastern and Icahn. Finally, the case allows students the opportunity to discuss the mechanics of a going-private transaction, the role of boards of directors in a management buyout bid, how activist investors can hold boards and managers accountable, and other corporate governance issues involved.

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Having been able to follow its own "three-year plan" on course constantly, Li & Fung Limited fell short of meeting its stretch earnings target for the first time in almost two decade, leading to a double-digit drop in stock price overnight. Questions were raised on the company's strategies pursued to meet such targets, and on the validity of its Three-Year Planning process.

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Axis Bank is India's third largest private sector bank. In April 2009, Shikha Sharma, an outsider was appointed as its CEO. She took over from a person who had overseen ten years of rapid growth at the bank. The selection of an outsider as the new CEO surprised many inside and outside the bank. Sharma changed the bank's hierarchical culture, strengthened the core team by appointing new talent where needed, sought to build its core processes and infrastructure, and filled several gaps in its business portfolio. Despite these changes, the stock market continues to undervalue Axis Bank compared with its chief rivals. In light of this, Axis Bank needs to figure out what more it needs to do to ensure that the market values the franchise correctly.

learning objective:

The aim of this case is to help students understand the challenges that an outside CEO faces when he or she is chosen to lead a large successful organization. It demonstrates the difficulties in bringing about change in such a scenario and some possible means to manage them. It also helps students understand the concept of market valuation.

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Axis Bank is India's third largest private sector bank. In April 2009, Shikha Sharma, an outsider, was appointed as its CEO. She took over from a person who had overseen ten years of rapid growth at the bank. The selection of an outsider as the new CEO surprised many inside and outside the bank. Sharma changed the bank's hierarchical culture, strengthened the core team by appointing new talent where needed, sought to build its core processes and infrastructure, and filled several gaps in its business portfolio. Despite these changes, the stock market continues to undervalue Axis Bank compared with its chief rivals. In light of this, Axis Bank needs to figure out what more it needs to do to ensure that the market values the franchise correctly.

learning objective:

The aim of this case is to help students understand the challenges that an outside CEO faces when he or she is chosen to lead a large, successful organization. It demonstrates the difficulties in bringing about change in such a scenario and some possible means to manage them. It also helps students understand the concept of market valuation.

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To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color.

The case explores the collateralization of intellectual property in a loan agreement between a highly leveraged apparel company and a large US bank. Leveraging intangibles in the credit market is a new practice that has significantly grown over the past few years. However, estimating their liquidation value is not directly intuitive, since intangibles are highly illiquid assets and have uncertain future cash flows. Can banks reliably secure corporate loans by intellectual property, and how can they alleviate the challenges in estimating a loan-to-value ratio for this collateral?

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In June 2012, Cheah Cheng-Hye and his colleagues at Value Partners, a Hong-Kong-based investment firm, received a copy of a short-seller report alleging that Evergrande, one of China's largest property developers, was using fraudulent accounting and paying bribes to secure business. Evergrande's stock plummeted, and Value Partners, which had a sizable holding of Evergrande stock, had to determine how to respond to the allegations. The case provides an opportunity to review Value Partners' research approach to investing in Chinese companies and to assess the merits of the Evergrande allegations.

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To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color.

Aditya Birla Financial Services Group is a large, broad-based, Indian financial services institution offering products ranging from life insurance and mutual funds to private equity. The company has witnessed a turnaround in recent years and regained lost market share. However, in recent years, concerns about investor protection has increased financial sector regulatory oversight specifically in the asset management and life insurance space and changed the rules of the game. Additionally, the central bank has invited new banks to apply for licenses to operate in the country. In the face of these changes, the company has to figure out what its strategy should be to realize its vision of becoming a leading integrated financial services player offering customers a menu of products that support their needs at different stages of their life.

learning objective:

The aim of this case is to help students understand the challenges in building an integrated financial services provider than can offer customers a broad array of financial products that meet their specific needs. It also strives to foster an understanding of the role of regulation in addressing the needs of all stakeholders (from consumers to salespeople) to ensure the survival of an industry.

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